Funding for Research on Improving Sexual Violence Conviction Rate

The government is committing $900,000 to fund research to encourage adult victims to report sexual violence attacks and boost the conviction rate for sexual offences.

A grant has been approved by the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology to fund a two-year research project into improving the justice system for adult victims of sexual violence.

The project, led by the Ministry of Women's Affairs in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice and the New Zealand Police, will investigate how many reports of sexual violence in New Zealand end up with a successful conviction, look at ways to improve the likelihood of victims making formal complaints, and investigate how victims can best be supported through the criminal justice system.

Justice Minister, Mark Burton, said sexual violence is significantly under-reported in New Zealand.

"Of those who do report, it is not currently known how many will be successful in obtaining a conviction. In the UK, and other comparable jurisdictions, the chance of obtaining a conviction for sexual violence is well below 10 per cent. This affects victims' confidence in the justice system, and means many offenders are not being held accountable," Mark Burton said.

"Research overseas has demonstrated that the investigative stage is one of the four key points at which victims drop out of the criminal justice system. This project will provide comparative data for New Zealand, and seek to establish the causes of this drop-out rate."

It is estimated that sexual violence costs the New Zealand economy $1.2 billion per annum.

The research will involve NGOs and others working in the area of sexual violence, and will contribute to better targeted services, increased offender accountability and behaviour change.